This invention relates generally to monitoring the status of a computer network. More particularly, the invention concerns a method and apparatus for displaying an object representing the number of nodes in a group of computer network nodes.
It is well known in the design and operation of computer networks to segment networks for various reasons. For example, devices, referred to as "nodes", on a network may be assigned to groups, also referred to as "clusters", according to traffic patterns so that the nodes within a cluster communicate more directly with each other than with other nodes. Grouping usually enhances the efficiency of transactions for the entire network as well as for the nodes within each group. Nodes may also be assigned to groups according to differences in the transmission media between nodes, the location of the nodes or for security purposes.
It is also well known to announce conditions in a system by changing the appearance of a symbol on a computer display in order to attract attention to the status of the system when a certain circumstance occurs. For example, the volume or rate of network transactions among a group of nodes may be monitored in this manner. Then, when the volume or rate of transactions within a cluster exceeds a preset limit a symbol representing that group will alert the user to investigate the condition.
One drawback to the traditional monitoring approach concerns the limited information conveyed to the user to help in an investigation of the system. For example, with the usual system when a symbol announces that the volume of transactions has exceeded a limit within a cluster, the user must take steps to get more data about that cluster. Usually, this involves selecting the symbol that represents the cluster demanding attention and changing the computer display to show details. For this and other applications, it would be useful to provide the user with more immediate information about the size of each cluster on the network, since the volume or rate of transactions in a group may be affected by the groups size. This is particularly true where the network has clusters of diverse sizes and where the network has many clusters which simultaneously demand attention.
This need to provide concise status information is increasing. There is a trend toward larger, more complex networks because of distributed processing and parallel processing. Also, since individual network devices are becoming more powerful and less expensive users tend to add to and reconfigure networks more frequently. Under these circumstances, it is more important but harder to monitor the status of computer networks.